Book #23 and Book #24

Pop

By: Gordon Korman

For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Korman, I highly recommend reading his Son of the Mob books. There are two, and they are HiLaRiOuS! I saw this book on the library shelf, and I immediately grabbed it hoping that it would be as fun a read as those books are. I wasn't disappointed, exactly. This book was different simply because of the tone and the topic surrounding the story. In this story, the main character is new to a small town. This small town has a BIG football team, and he wants in. He is a pretty good player, but the team is less than receptive to having a new guy come in and bust up what they have accomplished. However, when said character, Marcus, wants to be a part of something, he works hard to make it happen. Marcus begins practicing his throw in the park one day and out of no where comes a HUGE grow man who plows him over. This guy has to be at least 50, but he acts like a 17 year-old boy. He has the lowest center of gravity Marcus has ever seen, and Marcus and this mystery man begin practicing knocking one another over...okay, not just knocking one another over, but tackling with all their might. 

As the story progresses, Marcus discovers that his mystery man is none other than Charlie Popovich! He was a great NFL player, and his son (who HATES Marcus and is ex-boyfriend of the head cheerleader who has taken an interest in Marcus) is the staring QB. As it turns out, Charlie has early Alzheimer's from too many concussions. He thinks Marcus is his best friend from when he was 17, and he actually gets Marcus in a lot of trouble. However, Marcus and Charlie help one another out in many different ways, and when it comes time to say good-bye...well, you have to read it. 

1984

By: George Orwell

I never had a desire to read this book. The only reason I picked it up this summer was because I had hoped I would be teaching it in the fall. I did not love it. Not at all! In fact, it depressed me more than any book has since Lord of the Flies. I was silly enough to actually think for a minute that Winston and Julia would/could actually escape the horrible control of a government so set on controlling the people. Why did that happen? The world turns on itself and the people just let it happen. Big Brother will save you! Big Brother--as one person--did not exist, but as a group, yes! We worry today about the government taking over our lives, but I cannot imagine living in a world where they can actually SEE into your living quarters. A world where reading and writing and thinking for oneself was dangerous and took a person to the Ministry of Love where no love exists. In fact, no love exists. The irony and oxymorons of the world where Winston lives are frightening. The reality and the similarities of his world and ours is too much to think about. I think I would like to live as the proles...unknowing and in my own happy place.